Drone stops international football match (BBC)

[Colin McDonald]

May be OT because there might not have been a camera on board, but unhelpful publicity for advocates of the responsible use of drones:
BBC Sport - Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania abandoned after trouble

Serbia's match with Albania was abandoned after a drone carrying a political message sparked clashes involving players and fans on the Partizan Stadium pitch.

The Euro 2016 qualifier, refereed by English official Martin Atkinson, was suspended in the 41st minute at 0-0.

Trouble flared when an Albanian flag and message flew above the pitch and was caught by a Serbia player.

Albania players tried to take it before several fans broke onto the pitch.

Atkinson led the players off the field and, after a delay of around 30 minutes, Uefa confirmed the match had been abandoned.

Albanian fans had been banned from attending the qualifier between the two Balkan rival nations.

Serbia and Albania have a history of turbulent relations, predominantly in relation to the former Serbian province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008.

[Mark Dobson]

As an owner of a Phantom 2 this news item made me cringe!

Definitely a DJI Phantom. Couldn't see a camera on it. On the one hand pretty impressed by the ability of the Phantom to lift the flag around the stadium, on the other as Colin McDonald points out 'unhelpful publicity for advocates of the responsible use of drones'

Whoever flew the quadcopter will have been gratified with the response to this provocative political stunt.

[David Heath]

A couple more drone stories about trouble with them at football matches - BBC News - Man held over drone flight at Manchester City stadium and BBC News - Football stadium drone flights investigated by aviation authority .

On a slightly more encouraging note, worth looking at the report from the BBCs "Newsnight" programme - BBC News - The skies open up for large civilian drones - video at bottom of page.

[Mark Dobson]

Thanks for those links David.

The films certainly demonstrate the wide commercial usage of drones. Those of us flying drones for cinematic purposes are amongst the more benign users.

I'm off to the commercial UAV show in London today with a clear intent of looking into the use of drones within the archaeological sector. Should be an interesting day.

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by Mark Dobson

I'm off to the commercial UAV show in London today with a clear intent of looking into the use of drones within the archaeological sector. Should be an interesting day.

I went today (Wednesday). A couple of new suppliers I hadn't heard of before...

[David Heath]

Another quite interesting drone story from the BBC - BBC News - UK drones: Concern over increase in use - acknowledging that we're likely to see much more drone usage in the future, and they could bring benefits and threats.

"The use of drones in the UK will rise over the next 20 years, raising "significant safety, security, and privacy concerns", a report has said.

The University of Birmingham Policy Commission Report raised the prospect that the aircraft could be used by terror groups to attack public events.

However, it also acknowledged greater use could bring "significant benefits" to the UK's security and economy.

It called for "urgent" measures to safeguard British airspace and privacy.

The research into Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) was led by Sir David Omand, a former head of the UK's intelligence centre, GCHQ."

[Dave Partington]

Drones flown over Liverpool & London : BBC News - Drones flown in London and Liverpool despite CAA laws